Hamsters are burrowing animals that dwell in complicated underground burrow methods within the wild. It’s pure for them to create networks of tunnels with nesting and meals chambers the place they sleep and retailer meals. They actually have a devoted chamber they use as a bathroom!
Wild hamster’s burrows are often between 55 and 65 cm deep (22-26 inches), and whereas it might be fairly exhausting for us pet house owners to have a cage giant sufficient to suit that a lot bedding, we will nonetheless do our greatest to offer sufficient bedding for burrowing.
Offering solely an inch or two of bedding gained’t permit your hamster to burrow. Right here’s how a lot bedding they want.
How Many Inches of Bedding Does a Hamster Want
The minimal depth of the bedding your hamster wants depends upon the species of your pet.
Syrian Hamsters
Syrians are the most important hamster species we preserve as pets they usually develop between 13 and 18 cm (5 – 7 inches) in dimension, in order that they want a variety of bedding. Ideally, they need to have 12 inches of bedding however don’t go underneath the minimal of 10 inches.
Think about three hamsters stacked on prime of one another. Might you bury them within the bedding? In that case, it’s deep sufficient. If not, add extra bedding till the highest imaginary hamster is roofed.
Dwarf & Chinese language Hamsters
For smaller dwarf species and Chinese language hamsters, intention for not less than 10 inches of bedding, however by no means go underneath the minimal of 6 inches.
By offering sufficient bedding, your hamster will be capable to specific their pure behaviors, dig and construct burrows which is important for his or her well-being. This may even lower their stress ranges and make them much less prone to present damaging habits, comparable to chewing the cage bars or frantically attempting to flee.
How Does Deep Bedding Profit Hamsters?
Much less Stress
Research has discovered that Syrian hamsters saved with 10 cm (4 in) deep bedding confirmed considerably extra wire-gnawing and the next working wheel exercise than these saved with 40 cm (16 in) and 80 cm (32 in) deep bedding. In actual fact, Syrian hamsters with 80 cm of bedding didn’t gnaw on wires in any respect. All hamsters in 40 cm and 80 cm of bedding dug burrows.
So it’s evident that the extra bedding you’ll be able to present, the higher. Think about three hamsters stacked on prime of one another. Might you bury them within the bedding? In that case, it’s deep sufficient. If not, add extra bedding till the highest imaginary hamster is roofed.
It Fulfills Their Pure Have to Burrow
As burrowing animals, digging and residing in burrows come naturally to hamsters. Underground tunnels are their protected place to cover from predators and really feel protected. Although there could be no predators at your own home, your hamster doesn’t know that. In the event that they’re unable to dig and burrow as a result of an absence of bedding depth, they’ll need to escape the cage to discover a new place to construct burrows.
Think about being faraway from your own home and positioned in the course of the woods so that you can dwell there with none shelter. That’s how hamsters really feel once they can’t construct burrows.
Your Hamster Cage Ought to Enable Burrowing
As you most likely observed, small hamster cages you’ll be able to usually discover in pet shops don’t permit for a lot bedding. These small cages are unsuitable for hamsters and should not manufactured with the hamster’s well-being in thoughts.
I wrote in regards to the minimal moral cage dimension for hamsters and a few advisable cages that match the standards right here. In case your present cage is simply too small and might’t match sufficient bedding, I extremely encourage you to change to at least one that may. Your hamster shall be quite a bit happier.
A steel barred cage ought to have a deep base of not less than 6 inches (though extra can be higher) to permit for the minimal quantity of bedding. You can too add a deep digging field to compensate for the shortage of bedding on the backside of the cage.
When you’re going to make use of an aquarium or a plastic bin, these can maintain loads of bedding however be certain the bin is excessive sufficient to suit a big sufficient wheel to your hamster on prime of the deep bedding.
When you’re utilizing a protracted however quick cage, such because the DIY Ikea Deloft cage, you’ll be able to fill one aspect of the cage with bedding to the highest and depart the opposite a part of the cage for the wheel and a sand tub.
What to Use as a Bedding
We’ve gone into extra element in regards to the various kinds of protected bedding you need to use in our hamster bedding submit. An essential factor to recollect is that not all bedding varieties are protected or optimum to make use of.
Make sure that the bedding you utilize is:
- Non-dusty
- Non-scented
- Protected for the hamsters (protected if ingested, no toxins and so on.)
- It may well maintain burrows effectively and never collapse when your hamster is digging.
Protected and hottest choices for hamster bedding are:
You can too use paper bedding and aspen shavings collectively to offer two completely different textures.
I like to recommend additionally offering a ‘booster’ on prime of the primary substrate within the type of long-strand delicate hay. Hamsters love to make use of it for nesting.
Bedding varieties to keep away from:
- Cedar and pine shavings – most of these wooden comprise harmful phenols. Though producers began warmth treating pine to take away the harmful phenols, it’s nonetheless finest to keep away from it since hamsters are in such shut contact with their bedding and spend hours burrowed in, particularly with so many higher and safer bedding choices.
- Fluffy cotton bedding – there’s a threat of inside blockages in case your hamster ingests a few of the bedding, and the hamster’s limbs can simply get entangled in one of these bedding.
Supplies which are protected however not appropriate as the primary bedding:
- Paper pellets – these shouldn’t be used as the primary bedding because it doesn’t maintain burrows.
- Smooth granule bedding – this may be added to your hamster’s cage so as to add selection however shouldn’t be used as the primary bedding because it additionally doesn’t maintain burrows.
- Rest room paper – bathroom paper is a superb nesting materials however doesn’t present odor management, so it’ll have to get replaced every day.
Tips on how to Calculate How A lot Bedding You Have to Purchase
Now that you understand how a lot bedding you want to your hamster, it’s time to do some math so you may get the correct quantity of bedding. When wanting on the product packaging, it may be exhausting to determine how a lot bedding precisely you want to your cage, particularly when it’s compressed inside.
Right here’s learn how to calculate how a lot bedding you want:
- First, calculate the dimensions of your cage in sq. inches by multiplying cage width by cage size. For instance, your cage is 36″ x 18″ which comes right down to 648 sq. inches.
- Now, multiply the sq. inches of your cage by the needed depth of your bedding, for instance, 10 inches. That’s 648 (sq. inches) x 10, which makes 6480 cubic inches.
- Since bedding dimension is displayed in liters, you have to convert cubic inches to liters. To do this, multiply the cubic inches by 0.016387. The outcome will provide you with the variety of liters you want to have the ability to fill your cage with 10 inches of bedding.
I’ve created a calculator under to make it simpler for you.
Hamster Bedding Calculator
Enter cage width and size and the specified bedding depth in inches or centimeters and let the calculator present you what number of liters of bedding you want.
Deep Bedding = Happier Hamster
Deep bedding is an important a part of your hamster’s cage and presumably an important one. It permits hamsters to precise their pure behaviors of digging and constructing burrows, whereas offering them a sanctuary the place they really feel protected. This side of hamster husbandry is crucial for each their bodily and psychological well being.
In case your hamster is exhibiting indicators of stress, gnawing on the cage bars and consistently attempting to flee, rethink your cage setup and bedding depth. Present your hamster with not less than 10 inches of bedding (12 inches for a Syrian hamster), if no more. If the minimal quantity of bedding can’t match inside your present hamster cage, which means the cage is sadly unsuitable to your pet and needs to be upgraded to one thing greater.
